Addressing Marijuana Smell Complaints

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Addressing Marijuana Smell Complaints

Aubrey Page
Investor · Cincinnati, OH · Member since 2016 · 18 posts · 13 votes

We have a new-to-us class c quadplex in Avondale in Cincinnati. Tenant A moved in 1 Feb. Tenant B moved in 5 Mar. Tenant C moved in 7 Apr.  Tenant C reported on Apr 10 that she smelled marijuana so strongly when she woke up that she had to open up her windows to air it out.  We talk about drug use on the premises during lease/property rules signing.  This is obviously not allowed. 

Step 1:  I posted a "reminder" letter that said "We have spent a lot of time moving each of you in and we want to be able to maintain our contract. However, we will proceed with eviction proceedings with anyone smoking or using drugs on the property."

Tenant C text me today and said that it isn't fair to her or her son to have to deal with this. I absolutely agree which is why I had asked her on the 10th to keep reporting times/dates she smelled weed usage at the apartment so I could gather a timeline.  She hasn't done that even though she says it has gotten worse.

Tenant C said that she knows that Tenant A/B knows that she was the one reporting (even though I said it was me in the letter).  Tenant C has expressed fear at the thought of Tenant A/B taking "recourse" on her.  I have no reason to believe that is likely, but regardless...people cannot smoke weed inside of our building.

I am hoping someone with more experience on here has an idea.  Any option I can think of makes Tenant C the snitch.  I suspect it is Tenant A, but have no proof other than Tenant B said she was not there on April 10th.

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Nicole A.Pro Member
Rental Property Investor · Baltimore County Maryland and Tampa Florida · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
9y

Marijuana or not, it's always tough to control people smoking inside. You really can't control people, and your upset tenant seems to think that you can control people. You could confront your smoking tenant directly, but they'll likely deny it. You may or may not smell smoke inside the unit yourself. You might not see any evidence. It's a tough situation to "police." So I think that by you wanting to please the upset tenant so much, she is going to be come more of a nuisance to you than the smoker! I think you might need to put a bit more distance between yourself and your promises/eagerness to please your tenants.

Sorry that this isn't really giving you a concrete solution, but these are the kind of issues you're going to always deal with especially in multiunits and C-class properties. You're not the police or anyone's life coach. You're simply the landlord/property manager. You'll provide a safe, clean property, but you simply can not control people's every action. And you can't play detective either. 

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  • Lee Bell
    Real Estate Appraiser · Isabella lake, CA · Member since 2018 · 628 posts · 491 votes
    8y

    Has anyone checked for a dead skunk, maybe in the crawl space? ;>)

    1Reply
  • Mac Wildstar
    Member since 2018 · 7 posts · 5 votes
    8y
    Originally posted by @Lee Bell:

    Has anyone checked for a dead skunk, maybe in the crawl space? ;>)

     I have smelled my share of skunks, both alive and dead, and other critters.. since there is no crawl space in this apartment building, the smell is weed. Unmistakably weed. 

    1Reply
  • Matt K.
    Walnut Creek, CA · Member since 2015 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    8y
    Originally posted by @Lee Bell:

    Has anyone checked for a dead skunk, maybe in the crawl space? ;>)

     LOL

    1Reply
  • Mac Wildstar
    Member since 2018 · 7 posts · 5 votes
    8y
    Originally posted by @Matt K.:
    Originally posted by @Lee Bell:

    Has anyone checked for a dead skunk, maybe in the crawl space? ;>)

     LOL

     Seriously.  living in the country, Sis took my golden lab for a walk.. he got into a skunk.. she let him in the house.. OMG... used to live in an area where dead ones on the road was common place.. Then lived in a duplex where one dug a den for winter under the front porch, it woke up in mid winter and sprayed.. OMG the stench lasted for a week inside the house.. yeah..and ever since a friend got me a beanie baby skunk named stinky I haven't had any more problems with them.. crazy, eh? 

    Think I would rather have the skunks than the smell of rancid MJ.

    0Reply
  • Jill F.
    Investor · Akron, OH · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    7y

    Tell your suspect tenants that you are getting complaints about marijuana smoke in the building and that pot smoking is not allowed... so if they do smoke pot to make sure and do the right thing and be discreet and put a towel under the door... and that if complaints continue the rent is going up for suspected violators.

    0Reply
  • Dan Maciejewski
    Realtor · PInellas County Largo, FL · Member since 2016 · 902 posts · 810 votes
    7y

    I would try my hardest to stay out of tenant spats.  If it's a legal issue, have the tenant keep reporting to the police.  I wouldn't ask them to make a list to me.  The police report would make a fine list.

    If you have a non-smoking property and your lease says so, then any sign of any type of smoking on your next visit or inspection should trigger a notice to quit.  Any instances where you smell or see evidence of smoking after that time period should then trigger an eviction.  

    I tell all my tenants at move-in that I do not want to be involved in tenant quarrels.  I do not assign parking for that reason -- I don't want to hear about it, I'm not their mom, and I hate tattletales!

    In short, either let them sort it out or let the police sort it out or handle lease violations per the lease.  Who reported to the police shouldn't matter.  And if you see evidence of smoking, you can be the bad guy -- landlords are the bad guy sometimes, anyway!

    2Reply
  • Hai Loc
    Specialist · Toronto, Ontario · Member since 2012 · 2k+ posts · 891 votes
    7y

    I had these issues too. Dad and son smoking.. All the tenants complained but thankfully they left on their own will..

    0Reply
  • Thomas S.
    Member since 2016 · 13k+ posts · 12k+ votes
    7y

    Contrary to what some landlords prefer to think this absolutely a landlord issue. It is no different than any other tenant complaint , it is justified and according to the lease a landlords responsibility to cure. Many state landlord tenant regulations include "reasonable enjoyment"  clauses siting it as a landlords responsibility.

    Landlords had best smarten up on this issue of weed smoke and realise they can not innocently turn a blind eye. This is a landlord responsibility. It is not simply whining and bickering on the part of tenants it is a very serious issue.

    All landlords will eventually be forced to have no smoking clauses in their leases and will be required to strictly enforce....no excuses based on a landlords incomitance. If we do not soon step up we will be taken to court by out tenants on this issue and they will win. Rightly so.

    2Reply
  • Sabrina Jones
    Member since 2019 · 4 posts · 2 votes
    7y

    I don't agree with a lot of responses that "you just can't control it". Bs.  Pot smoking IS smoking. It effects the cleanliness of the air, health and it's a fire hazard.  Tenants who have to put up with that crap is not right.  If it's a smoke free building act on it.

    Sure we can't force people do not smoke pot but we can evict them!  By the way you can always say "Edibles fine...just have problems with the smoke"!

    As far as your problem ask Tenant C if she is comfortable with you making moves to stop it. OR wait awhile so the energy between them dies down.  Either way YOU can act on it if you want and you should do so.

    1Reply
  • Thomas S.
    Member since 2016 · 13k+ posts · 12k+ votes
    7y

    Ignorance is no excuse, we have a responsibility to all tenants not just the easy ones to manage. The tenant that needs to go is the one that is the source of the problem not the one bringing attention to the problem.

    2Reply
  • Account Closed
    Lender · Pensacola, FL · Member since 2017 · 658 posts · 626 votes
    7y

    I've heard investors say after they do a fix-and-flip in a rough neighborhood, they hire off-duty police officers to sit in their patrol cars in uniform in front of the place for a few days to scare away the drug dealers. Many departments have a program where off-duty officers can be hired as security for events (they make sure the requesters are not criminals).

    Some landlords might be able to get this service for free. I live in an apartment complex with a large number of units. A couple of tenants are police officers who park their cruisers in the tenant parking spaces during the day (they go out on patrol at night).

    What would happen if one of these officers smelled weed? Why would tenants risk smoking weed if they knew one of their neighbors was a police officer? Why would drug dealers go near the place if a police officer was known to be there?

    I heard from long-time neighbors that drugs were an issue here once. Since the buildings are near a school and children walk past them every day, I can see a win-win for the apartments and for the community. Florida is beefing up security around schools now.

    0Reply
  • Jack B.
    Rental Property Investor · Seattle, WA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Chuy Gonzalez:

    Weed is part of class c properties. I get lightheaded and hungry from all the weed smoke at my place. I found good tenants that don't smoke...but it seems like most of their neighbors in surrounding buildings do. I don't have any good advice, but i understand where you are coming from.

    Exactly. These are the types of problems you will deal with when renting this class of property out to people. Fights, thefts, domestics, all of it will be part of your experience with class C.

    1Reply
  • Rebecca Stuelpnagel
    Rental Property Investor · Frisco, TX · Member since 2016 · 22 posts · 12 votes
    7y

    We live in a state with a lot of medical marijuana use and there are a lot of alternatives like edibles that do not stink up the place.  I would stick to your policy of no smoking in the buildings and have the tenant report it to the police every time she smells it so you take yourself out of the middle.

    I also like the advise of the "Happy clause" for the tenant complaining because you can not make everyone happy, but at the same time, the next person moving in will have to deal with it too.

    0Reply
  • Sam Shueh
    Real Estate Agent · Cupertino, CA · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7y

    she uses it on her daily. She likes it so much she put $75M into a company. So is Joe Montana..... Trump is trying to get closer than other presidents....

    0Reply
  • Akilah S.
    Alpharetta, GA · Member since 2016 · 5 posts · 0 votes
    7y

    @Jack B. Seems this problem is common across the board. I recently sold my house and am living in a class B property and I smell my neighbors weed frequently. I chatted with the pest control guy who says some of the class A places he services have that issue along with pest issues. Pretty discouraging to pay this amount and deal with the smell. Luckily this is temporary. 

    0Reply
  • Henry Kaldenbaugh
    Verde Valley Arizona USA · Member since 2018 · 115 posts · 98 votes
    7y

    You might want to add the BP No smoking Addendum to your leases in the future.  I added a clause about Vaping to the Addendum.

    0Reply
  • Sabrina Jones
    Member since 2019 · 4 posts · 2 votes
    7y

    I don't agree with the "laissee faire" attitude here and yes, with common sense, you can determine who is smoking what.

    I am a landlord and I used to be a renter.  Believe it or not many renters want a smoke free environment.  Clean air is important to many tenants.  Also pot smoking can attract unsavory types to your building.  I would be very annoyed at a landlord who didn't lay down the law and keep it nice and smoke free for everyone else. It would be extremely unkind in my book.

    Having said that YES you can determine if they are smoking pot or tobacco. If your other tenants are complaining um, yeah they are probably smoking.  It's not rocket science.  If you walk by their unit and smell it coming out from their windows or doors um yeah they are probably smoking.

    When you have determined they are probably smoking send them a strongly worded "3 day notice or Quit" notice AND make sure you make the building smoke free with a Bold and large printed document saying so.  Post a notice by where they place the rent or do laundry to remind them.  Be firm and strong about it.

    It's foolish to ignore this.  Smoking is a major cause of fire.  Smoking cannibus even more so as people are getting high while lighting up.  It gets into the walls and ceilings and adds a layer of tar on the walls that have to be manually cleaned to get rid of.  This is very labor intensive and expensive.   Sometimes if it goes on long enough it becomes permanent damage.   My neighbor who had long term pot smoking tenants could not get the smell out and realized the only way she was going to be able to do this is to remove the drywall. Do you want that to happen? It's very very expensive and time consuming.    Smoking also makes the air gross for everyone else.

    I just put a 3 Day notice and a large "NO SMOKE BUILDING" note up today on a long term tenant who has done both pot and tobacco.  They smoked because they felt entitled and didn't take the rules seriously.  She is now. She is denying it all the way but she admitted it to me prior.  She is just embarrassed I think.  Now it's on a document so if I catch her again (and we agreed that I alert her when it happens) she is OUT.  They are an elderly couple with past drug use so not too sharp. They could easily cause of fire.   I don't put up with that stuff. 

    1Reply
  • Sam Shueh
    Real Estate Agent · Cupertino, CA · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7y

    Police if illegal(in all probability). Let cops to do what is right.


    0Reply
  • Sabrina Jones
    Member since 2019 · 4 posts · 2 votes
    7y

    I wanted to add it's very effective from the very beginning to make it clear its a "smoke free" building.  From the beginning of even meeting prospective tenants. It doesn't matter if it's legal are not you are allowed to say "no" to smoking.  You can make it clear they can still enjoy cannibus in a smoke free form.  Tell them there are health and safety issues.  Then when lease signing happens make them sign a document with BIG BOLD LETTERS "THIS IS A SMOKE FREE BUILDING" and have them sign it.  Make it very very clear.  Your non smoking tenants will thank you.

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    Investor · Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7y

    Maybe better to allow smoking? Seems almost impossible to enforce. 

    0Reply
  • Ned J.Pro Member
    Investor · Manteca, CA · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    7y

    My biggest question is in regard to "knowing" vs "proving" who is smoking the weed in order to evict and have it stand up if it were to go to court.

    All the neighbors "know" who is smoking it..... but what "proof" do they have that its tenant X? How much "proof" do you feel comfortable with to do an eviction for the lease violation of smoking? Not likely to go to court, but I would want some documentation to feel comfortable that tenant X was actually the one smoking the weed...

    Getting rid of the complaining tenant does nothing unless  you are counting on sticking a tenant in there where they wont care....

    0Reply
  • Jorge Marte
    Member since 2019 · 7 posts · 0 votes
    7y

    Yes, it really is hard to proof it! Also the one tenant is complaining but not really helping you with the documentation. On the other hand what would it help. It's a tough thing but I think you are not really able to do anything :/

    0Reply
  • Mike C.
    Member since 2019 · 2 posts · 0 votes
    7y

    lady:  ur beating a dead horse.  ur always gonna 420/smokers. especially now that Ohio allows up to 100 grams without jail time.   u want ur lease to address the problem of a "dealer" living on site.. ur attorney can help with that.    install decent exhaust/air moving devices.  if u have enough units:   hire a property management company that manages class c  properties like yours.    probably need minimum of 12 units, i'm guessing.   good luck  Mike.

    0Reply
  • Weed Weederson
    Member since 2019 · 1 post · 0 votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Mac Wildstar:
    Originally posted by @Matt K.:
    Originally posted by @Mac Wildstar:
    Originally posted by @Matt K.:
    Originally posted by @Mac Wildstar:

    Ok, so what can a tenant do, to the land lord (of a big apartment complex) that has said their hands are tied and cannot do anything except refuse to renew the lease (in 10 months)? Do the rest of the people in the building have to put up with these people smoking pot and making the place stink like crazy,. when there is enough circumstantial evidence to show it is that couple, (or one of them) in that unit that is doing it? 

    That is the problem I has a tenant have.   I am ready to sue the apartment complex for breach of contract for not Enforcing a safe environment for the kids, both mine, and my neighbors.  I don't want to do that as I have been here a few years and until these people moved in, we had a nice quiet building with few if any problems.

    Thanks.

     I would assume if you sue them then the police reports would either support or disprove your claims. Assuming the police haven't done anything then I'd wager that'd probably be a big counter point to your claims.

    Now if you moved out, chances are there's probably something you could cite to get out of the lease. They'd probably threaten something and maybe take you to court but you'd probably have better chance of defeating those cliams. 

     Well Matt, the cops came here 3 times in the first 6 weeks they were here for domestic issues. At the same time those of us who were here, noticed the pot smell that happened only while they were here. Never happens when they are not. 3 of us have lived in this same building for over 3 years or more. Since all lease have a non usage addendum to them, we knew these folks were violating the lease. We reported this to the Complex administration who said they were doing something. Turns out they are doing nothing. THis is why I will not support recreational use when my state votes on it in November. We have 2 children under the age of 24 months on this side of the building. THEY have a 3 year old in their apartment and I have been told that I should not be around the stuff due to my medical history.  If the apartment complex is not going to enforce its own contract, then I believe I have the right to break mine without penalty.  I will also be seeking advice of a lawyer to see If I can force the Complex to compensate me for my moving expenses due to the breach, and due to health risks their refusal to act has created.  The other tenants may have the same option. And what is worse, is I talked to the duty Sargent at our local police office today on their non emergency number, and they said its a landlord issue and don't want to get involved unless we can catch them doing it, or we call while the odor is very strong in the building. even then it will not be a high priority for them. 

     Again, if you're going to sue them about saftey and don't have police report backing up your claims of illegal activities leading to an unsafe enviroemnt I don't see how that's going to work?

    But like I said you can probably leverage soemhting about quality of life/habability to get out the lease with out penality. But I'd assume to get moving costs covered you'd have to show you were forced out vs this being your own choice. I'm not sure how you'd prove something like that with out something like an arrest or video/photos.

    Have you even approached them (management) about moving to a different unit as an attempt to resolve this with out having to break the lease? That could be a good icebreaker to start the covo, maybe little better than threaten to sue them...

     I've been in a simialr situation as you, trust me it sucks and I get it.

    Exactly Matt. That is why I am getting the police involved, to create the paper trail. And I have the VA medical teams profession opinion that I should not be in an area where i am being exposed to that stuff, due to health complications of my own.

    I have also documented  my dealings with the Apt administration, and have written statements from neighbors as to what they have done.  Its all evidence to use in a court case, should I decide that I have to leave. 

    In the mean time, the tenants are cooperating in an effort to get these people removed. 

    This is why I cannot support the recreational use of MJ. I have friends who use medical MJ but those are the oils and other products, not the weed people smoke. I am fine with that. 


    If people are going to be allowed to smoke it where ever they want, its going to create a big problem for Housing complexes as many do not want to be around those kinds of people, the Drunks and Druggies. 

    Okay if you want to file a lawsuit in America you have to prove adequate psychological, physical, or financial harm was done to you. Smelling weed doesn’t meet meet this requirement. And before you say my health despite what you think that smoke from anotnher apartment is doing less damage to you then the Tylenol you take every day ( from a med student) So go ahead and try to sue but I also wouldn’t expect much from a police paper trail. They are probably doing the bare minimum in paper work on th subject. because it’s 2019 and they don’t care about weed. If your wondering why there doesn’t seem to be any legal recourse for you it’s propably because your caring about something that doesn’t actually matter. Hence why there is no legal recourse established. 

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  • Steve Keays
    Member since 2019 · 1 post · 0 votes
    6y

    I was thinking that maybe people who smoke weed in apartments should have a canopy on their balcony which would be on the roof of the balcony and would fold outward. It could extend say 5 or 6 feet out which would be significant in terms of getting the smoke away from the neighbours upstairs , cutting down the amount of smoke going into their balcony by probably around 90% . If the neighbours below are bothered by the smoke still, they could have one too, which wouldnt have to be as wide, since the smoke tends to rise outside not fall .  I suspect many people who smoke inside their apartments do so in large part because they think if they smoke on the balcony it will be easier to detect where the smoke is coming from , so they would go out on their balcony more often

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